Video Of Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier

Competitive eating pros Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas squared off in Jacksonville on Labor Day.

The full video of the entire 8-minute Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is now posted on YouTube and here on KrystalSquareOff.com. Watch as top eating pros Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas and a host of others battle for burger supremacy along the mighty St. John’s River for a seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship on Sept. 28.

Click play below to view.

For photos from the contest, go here.

Eating Pros And ‘Average Joes’ Get Ready To Square Off In Jacksonville

Sonya Thomas, doing her best Dale Boone impression above, will seek to earn her fifth consecutive berth in the Krystal Square Off finals today in Jacksonville.

The Jacksonville Krystal Square Off V Qualifier is less than 30 minutes from starting, and the word on the scene is that the heat, humidity and occasional downpour hasn’t stopped hundreds of competitive eating fans from coming down to the Jacksonville Landing to cheer on their favorite eaters as they battle it out for a seat at the live, televised World Championship on Sept. 28.

While Hall Hunt is hands down the hometown favorite today, we hear there are some big time Sonya Thomas supporters among the crowd with a few people donning “I Love Sonya Thomas” shirts and one sign that says “Marry Me Sonya.” The Black Widow surely doesn’t like to disappoint, and we expect today to be a bite-for-bite battle until the very end between the two competitive eating pros.

For those not following along on the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed, you’re missing out on the action as it happens. As mentioned via Twitter earlier today, the below is the official list of eaters confirmed for today’s event:

Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas–Alexandria, VA
Hall “Hoover” Hunt–Jacksonville, FL
Bruce “The Hangman” Pobanz–Jacksonville, FL
Glen Owens–Hilliard, FL
Michael Parish–Tamarac, FL
Jeremy Kirch–Jacksonville, FL
Mark Barnes–Orlando, FL
Mike Greenspan–North Hollywood, CA

More than 50 “average Joes” have also signed up today for the chance to be one of the five amateur hopefuls picked on the spot to compete.

Don’t miss out on the action as it happens. Sign up to follow the Krystal Square Off V Qualifiers via Twitter. To read what you’ve missed so far, click on the “up” and “down” arrows on the Twitter box located on the right of this page.

KSOV Podcast: The Sonya Thomas Interview

Sonya Thomas, seen above facing off with Takeru Kobayashi in 2006, is ready to take on the boys this year at Krystal Square Off V.

Every week during this year’s Krystal Square Off V tour, we’re interviewing the biggest names in competitive eating, and this week the spotlight is on Sonya Thomas and Hall Hunt as they prepare for the Jacksonville Qualifier this Labor Day. As we stated yesterday, the contest down in J-Ville looks to be a good one, with Hall competing on his home turf and constantly improving his numbers and Sonya looking to hush her critics who say she’s no longer a threat when it comes to Krystals.

We talked with Sonya via phone yesterday and asked her how she felt about this Monday’s event and whether she thinks Hall “Hoover” Hunt will challenge her. The Black Widow also shared with us who she’s picking to win it all at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship (it isn’t Joey Chestnut), what she thinks the top number will be (it isn’t as high as Humble Bob’s prediction), what she predicts for herself and what kind of pressure she’s putting on herself this year.

Finally, we asked Sonya some of the great questions our readers submitted via the Krystal Square Off Twitter feed and on this site.

Hear all Sonya Thomas had to say by listening to the audio podcast below, and stay tuned for our podcast with Hall Hunt later today.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Tale Of The Tape: Sonya Thomas Vs. Hall Hunt

Hall Hunt and Sonya Thomas will square off this Labor Day in Jacksonville for a seat at the Krystal Square Off V World Hamburger Eating Championship.

While the Chattanooga Qualifier proved to be a cake walk for “Humble” Bob Shoudt, this Labor Day’s Krystal Square Off Qualifier in Jacksonville is shaping up to be a grudge match of epic proportions between two of competitive eating’s biggest stars: Sonya Thomas and Hall “Hoover” Hunt.

So who has the edge? Let’s break it down.

“The Black Widow” is one of the sport’s all-time greats, and on paper, she has the edge over Hoover in both experience and numbers. She’s one of a few eaters who has competed all four years of the Krystal Square Off and she has never lost a qualifier. Her personal best at Krystals is 62, which she did back in 2006. Her lowest tallies were 42 and 46, which she did at the 2004 Chattanooga Qualifier and 2004 finals, respectively. Since then she’s been over the 50 mark at every contest, averaging just above 53 Krystals lifetime. Most recently, she qualified for last year’s World Championship by downing 51 Krystals and went on to eat 58 at the finals.

As for Hall, he missed the first year of the Krystal Square Off, but he more than made up for that absence by competing in three qualifiers in 2005 alone, each time improving upon his performance, going from 24 to 26 to 30. Looking at the EatFeats database, Hall has competed in a total of six Krystal Square Off qualifiers in addition to his three final appearances over the past three years, so he actually has an edge over Thomas on the number of times he’s handled Krystals. That experience has helped him make considerable strides over the years. Last year he took down the Jacksonville Qualifier by wolfing down 49 Krystals and he went on to gobble up 51 at the finals to finish in 7th place.

In addition to steadily improving at every contest, another plus for Hall this Labor Day will be crowd support. He’s a Jacksonville local and the steady roar of “Hoover…Hoover…Hoover” from the audience may give him the extra edge needed to propel him to victory.

Finally, Hall lives in Krystal country with Jacksonville one of the fast food icon’s biggest markets, so he has plenty of opportunities to train. Thomas, on the other hand, is a few hundred miles away from the nearest Krystal, and as stated the other day, she hasn’t been practicing. So the first Krystal to her mouth since last year’s final will likely be the one she eats when the 8-minute clock starts on Monday.

So who do you think has the edge? And what numbers do you think these two eaters will put up?

Want to know what’s happening along the tour as it happens? Sign up to get messages from this year’s tour via Twitter here.